By the time Owen Pappoe was a sophomore linebacker at Grayson High School in Gwinnett County, he had managed to avoid suffering any serious injuries. But that all changed on an October night in 2016 in a game in Hoover, Alabama.
“I was going on a blitz and the surface was pretty slick and my leg extended in an awkward position,” said Pappoe, who sustained an impingement and labral tear of his left hip. “I had a lot of soreness after the game and thought it was just regular soreness.
“I toughed it out through the rest of the season, with cortisone shots before every game. I got an MRI after the season and found out I had a tear in there.”
First injury, first surgery
Pappoe — who after his Grayson days went on to play four seasons at Auburn University and is now in his second year with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals — had hip surgery in early 2017 at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The orthopedic surgeon was Dr. Cliff Willimon, who specializes in sports medicine, cartilage preservation and arthroscopic hip reconstruction.
“It was my first injury and my first time to have surgery,” said Pappoe, who was a three-time All-State selection while at Grayson. “I was nervous but I knew everything would be fine at the end of the day.”
“For some patients with a labral tear or hip impingement, if it’s not severe, we’re able to use physical therapy to improve their hip and core muscle strength, and they don’t need surgery,” said Willimon, who serves as team physician for Atlanta United FC and the Atlanta Ballet, among other entities.
“Owen’s impingement was more significant, and with cutting, pivoting and sprinting, the pain doesn’t get better through physical therapy and they benefit from surgery.”
Credit: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Credit: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
After the arthroscopic procedure, Pappoe missed spring drills with the Rams, but he was more than ready for contact when the 2017 season began. Willimon said that for most folks undergoing a similar surgery, the recovery time is considerable but he added that Pappoe’s dedication and superior athletic condition cut the rehabilitation period in half.
“Owen is a high achiever and does things better than most, and he did the recovery in a similar manner,” said Willimon. “Usually, I tell patients it’s a four-to six-month recovery, and in three months he was fully recovered. At four to six months, we’re usually letting them progress back into sports before full activity, but in three months he was ready to go.”
“It was just going in for rehab every day and following instructions,” said Pappoe during a telephone interview from Glendale, Arizona, where he’s training in preparation for his second summer camp with the Cardinals. “It felt good after a few weeks and I thought I could get up and run right then, but it was just about being patient. I just kept my head down and kept working.”
A surprise reunion
Although Pappoe and Willimon did not see each other again after the surgery, they remained in touch through phone calls and Willimon kept up with Pappoe’s career at Grayson and Auburn (where he was a two-time team captain).
Unbeknownst to Willimon, the media team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta reached out to Pappoe in June to pay a surprise visit to the doctor who had repaired his left hip.
“It was truly a surprise,” said Willimon. “In our clinic, we have different pods and (the staff) put him in a room that wasn’t being used that day, and my assistant Beth said there was a family I had seen earlier that was back with some questions, so they put the family in this room down the hall, which I thought was odd.
“I was kind of peeking in the room, since I wasn’t exactly sure who it was, and it was not a mother and her daughter, but it was Owen with a great smile. It was a great surprise.”
“It was pretty cool,” said Pappoe of the reunion. “We kept in contact throughout the years and he had followed my career when I was at Auburn, but I had not seen him since the surgery. So to be able to go out there and surprise him was great.
“It was funny how we did it. I think his nurses told him there was a family in the room waiting on him and he didn’t know what was going on. It was cool to see his face light up.”
‘A step in the right direction’
While Pappoe was at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, he also took time to visit with young patients at the hospital’s Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Pappoe has two siblings with sickle cell disease and his visit with patients and families provided a springboard for his intention to bring more awareness to the disease, which often manifests itself in African-American children.
“This was one of my first steps of diving out in the community and giving back,” he said. “We went to the Aflac sickle cell center and visited with some of the families and we brought some toys for the kids. It was something small, but it was a step in the right direction.
“I’m actually in the process to learn more about nonprofits so I can get mine together and do bigger things in the future. It was a great first step. We went from room to room and were able to hear the kids’ stories and relate to them. I’m still trying to figure out what it’s going to look like and how to put things together, but it’s going to be huge and I can’t wait for it.”
“He’s using his platform as an athlete to reach out and help others, so I’m really proud of him athletically, but also for the person he has become in helping others,” said Willimon.
As Pappoe considers his next steps in the philanthropic arena, he’s more than ready to make his mark in Arizona this fall. In his rookie campaign, the fifth-round draft pick played in 16 games (including one start) for the 4-13 Cardinals, recording nine tackles and a quarterback hit while mostly playing special teams.
“I can’t wait,” he said. “Year 1 went by and I played a lot of special teams and it was a learning year for me. I spent a lot of the year last year in a developmental group and I was going against the (first team) every day and was getting feedback from my coaches. I was getting better and better every week and towards the end of the season I ended up starting and ended up on a good note.
“I’m ready to make that Year 2 jump. I’m confident because I’m going into camp and getting ready to compete for a job. They say you make the biggest jump in your career between Year 1 and Year 2, and I’m ready to show it.”
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
Credit: Gwinnett Daily Post
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